Galatasaray 1-1 Chelsea: Jose Mourinho rues lack of cutting edge

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says his team are "paying" for a lack of cutting edge following a
1-1 draw
at Champions League last-16 opponents Galatasaray.

The Premier League leaders were in control of the first leg in Istanbul after Fernando Torres's early opener.

But they conceded a poor second-half goal to leave the tie delicately poised ahead of the return leg on 18 March.

"Some other teams have three chances and score three goals. We have five and score one," said Mourinho.

Chelsea's strikers in 2013-14

Fernando Torres
- 9 goals in 27 appearances

Samuel Eto'o
- 8 goals in 28 appearances

Demba Ba
- 3 goals in 18 appearances

"That's not a critique of the strikers but it's the profile of the team we have."

Chelsea dominated the first half at the Turk Telecom Arena, but were unable to double their advantage while they were in control.

And they were made to pay as Galatasaray equalised through Aurelien Chedjou to give the Turkish champions hope ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge.

"We create but when we arrive in the final third of the pitch, the correct pass and right movement is something we don't have," said Mourinho, who appeared
to criticise his strikers
in footage that came to light earlier this week.

"We are paying for that. In the Premier League we are losing points and in the Champions League we could have had a different result."

But Mourinho, whose team have drawn against West Brom and West Ham in their past five Premier League matches, said that the draw in Turkey was "acceptable".

"In the first half it was an opportunity missed, in the second half it was a fair result. In the first half we were the best team, we had three or four chances where we should have been more effective and scored," he added.

"In the second half, they put more pressure on us and we were more defensive. We were comfortable defensively but we conceded a goal from a corner, which I don't like and the players don't like."

While Chelsea rued their inability to take a lead back to London, Galatasaray were content with a home draw following a difficult start.

"In the end it could be a good result. We should play like we did in the second half. We were too deep in the first half," said the ex-Manchester City manager.

"In every attack we lost four players during the first 20 minutes, they were counter-attacking us every time, and that's impossible against Chelsea.

"I brought off Izet Hajrovic. He didn't have a bad game but we needed another midfielder. A 1-1 draw is a good result and we have a chance."

Former Chelsea striker
Didier Drogba,
who offered little threat in his first game against the Blues
since leaving in 2012,
agreed that it was a decent result for the Turkish champions.

"It was a special game to play against my old team-mates," said the Ivory Coast international, 35. "It was a great game and I think it is a good result.

"Chelsea are the better team on paper but in the second half we showed we can create them some problems. Now we have to go out and do it at Stamford Bridge. If we manage to score a goal, it's a different game."

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